An Overlooked, Proven Solution to Terrorism

Posted on May 22nd, 2011

Excerpted from 55 Trends Now Shaping the Future of Terrorism, a US government report sponsored by the Joint Information Operations Program Office (JIOPO), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Excerpts about Invincible Defense Technology taken from a 254-page report: “55 Trends Now Shaping the Future of Terrorism” edited by Dr. Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies. The Proteus Trends Series, Volume 1, Issue 2. Issued Feb 2008. A PDF of the entire report is available online on The Air University (AU) official USAF website at: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/proteus-55-terror.pdf .

Note: The text in blue boxes was written by the editors of the report. The text in green boxes was written by Dr. David Leffler, an expert in Invincible Defense Technology. Dr. Leffler’s comments appeared in the original document on pages 18, 79, 176, C-13 through C-16.

Ten Most Important Trends for the Future of Terrorism

Relatively few of our panelists rank-ordered the ten trends they believed would be most important for terrorism. Many simply picked out ten trends they felt deserved attention. Others provided comments for many more than ten without identifying the most significant. Some responded to only two or three trends. And of the participants who did suggest an order of importance for their selections, no two agreed with any of the others about the relative position of their choices. Bringing order out of this chaos has required some creativity. The list below is arranged according to the average rank assigned by the participants, with some extra weight accorded to trends that were picked the most often. The first three trends in the list were reasonably clear. After that, there was less agreement. The result is not the order Forecasting International’s staff would have chosen. Neither does it match the order established by any of the participants. However, we believe that it represents a rough consensus of the panelists’ views as fairly as possible. With that preface, here are the top ten most important trends for terrorism, in approximate descending order of significance. Evidence for each trend and other details are available in the next section of this report.

2 – Militant Islam continues to spread and gain power. (Trend 9)

It has been clear for years that the Muslim lands face severe problems with religious extremists dedicated to advancing their political, social, and doctrinal views by any means necessary.

Most of the Muslim lands are overcrowded and short of resources. Many are poor, save for the oil-rich states of the Middle East. Virtually all have large populations of young men, often unemployed, who are frequently attracted to violent extremist movements.

During its proxy war with the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, the United States massively fortified the Muslim extremist infrastructure by supplying it with money, arms, and, above all, training.

It is making a similar mistake today. The overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the American occupation of Iraq has inspired a new generation of jihadis, who have been trained and battle-hardened in the growing insurgency.

In a now-declassified National Security Estimate, the American intelligence community concluded that Al Qaeda was more powerful in 2007 than it had been before the so-called “war on terror” began—more dangerous even than it had been when it planned the attacks of September 11, 2001.

American support for Israel has also made the United States a target for the hatred of Muslim extremists.

Expert Comments:

Leffler: Research in the Middle East, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Conflict Resolution, demonstrated that a sufficiently large group of Invincible Defense Technology experts in Israel affected the war in nearby Lebanon. The Lebanon War intensity dropped 45 percent, war deaths dropped 76 percent, and quality of life improved by 0.75 standard deviation units. In Israel, crime dropped by 12 percent and quality of life improved by 1.3 standard deviation units. Areas with a low quality of life can be a breeding ground for terrorism. Based on this research, it is clear that Invincible Defense Technology is capable of greatly reducing the protracted sectarian violence in the Middle East.

52. International exposure includes a growing risk of terrorist attack.

State-sponsored terrorism has nearly vanished, as tougher sanctions have made it more trouble than it was worth. However, some rogue states may still provide logistical or technological support for independent terrorist organizations when opportunities present themselves.

Nothing will prevent small, local political organizations and special-interest groups from using terror––to promote their causes. These organizations have found inspiration in the successes of Al Qaeda, and many have found common cause.

Until recently, attacks on U.S. companies were limited to rock-throwing at the local McDonalds, occasional bombings of bank branches and of U.S.-owned pipelines in South America, and kidnappings. Since September 11, U.S.-owned hotel chains have experienced major bombings, in part because U.S. Government facilities overseas have been effectively hardened against terrorist assault.

As the United States has been forced to recognize, the most dangerous terrorist groups are no longer motivated primarily by specific political goals, but by generalized, virulent hatred based on religion and culture.

Terrorism has continued to grow around the world as the Iraq war proceeds, even as the rate of violence in Iraq itself has, at least temporarily, declined. Risks of terrorism are greatest in countries with repressive governments and large numbers of unemployed young men.

On balance, the amount of terrorist activity in the world will continue to rise, not decline, in the next 10 years. This was seen in corrections to the State Department’s April 2004 report on terrorism, which originally seemed to show a sharp drop in terrorist incidents. In fact, terrorist attacks had risen sharply since the invasion of Iraq, both in number and in severity.

Expert Comments:

Leffler: Major General (Ret.) Kulwant Singh, Ph.D. (http://www.invinciblemilitary.org/about/Maj_Gen_Singh.html) and associates are creating a group of 15,000 experts in Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) in central India. Based on the results of peer-reviewed scientific research published in Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, (http://invinciblemilitary.org/articles/sapratableii.html#b43) this group should be sufficiently large to reduce terrorism globally. This research showed that international conflict dropped 32 percent and deaths due to international terrorism dropped 72 percent when a large enough group of experts in IDT was in place. Therefore, when the group of IDT experts in India is large enough, the incidence of terrorist attacks world-wide is predicted to decrease.

Appendix C: An Overlooked, Proven Solution to Terrorism

David R. Leffler, Ph.D. Executive Director, Center for Advanced Military Science at the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, 11/19/07 Despite its advance technology and valiant efforts, the Department of Defense (DoD) is struggling to eliminate terrorism utilizing its current strategies and tactics. Terrorism and war are human problems requiring human solutions. The underlying cause of these, and other types of social violence, is accumulated social stress. Therefore, to eliminate such social problems, the DoD needs to reduce collective societal stress. No collective stress means no tension between the United States and other countries, religious groups, and insurgents. No terrorism. Extensive scientific research[1] indicates that the best way to reduce collective societal stress, and thereby snuff out war and terrorism, is by adopting an ancient strategy: “Avert the danger that has not yet come.” Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has revived the ancient Vedic technology of Invincible Defence in a non-religious manner. It has been quietly and successfully used by members of many faiths to eliminate conflict in the recent past. By applying this human resource-based technology, which is non-lethal and non-destructive, the military could reduce tensions and control terrorism. In this way, the military becomes invincible because the country takes out the enmity of the enemies. With no enmity between them, former enemies become friends and the nation becomes invincible because there are no enemies to fight. A Prevention Wing of the Military would be the ideal way to utilize this ideal goal of invincibility. This wing would comprise about 2 to 3 percent of the military. The remaining personnel would carry out their normal military duties. The Prevention Wing of the Military would be trained in the primary components of Invincible Defence Technology—the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program and its advanced practice, the TM-Sidhi program. They would practice these techniques in large groups, morning and evening. According to extensive scientific research, the size of the group needed to reduce social stress depends on the size of the population. The group size needs to be at least the square root of one percent of the population. To calculate this number, multiply the population size by 0.01, and then take the square root of this number. For instance, the U.S. has a population of approximately 301 million. 301,000,000 x 0.01 = 3,010,000. The square root of 3,010,000 is approximately 1,735, so a group of at least 1,735 IDT experts would be needed. The group size needed to affect the world is currently about 8,126. Studies show that when this threshold is crossed, the “Maharishi Effect”takes place. Crime goes down, quality of life indices go up, and war and terrorism abate. For instance, a Maharishi Effect intervention was created and studied in the U.S. capital in 1993. Predictions were lodged in advance with government leaders and newspapers. The research protocol was approved by an independent Project Review Board. Crime fell 23 percent below the predicted level when the TM-Sidhi group reached its maximum. Temperature, weekend effects, or previous trends in the data failed to account for changes. This research was published in the peer-reviewed Social Indicators Research.[2] Over 50 studies have shown that Invincible Defense Technology works. Mozambique used IDT to end its civil war in the 1990s. Today, Holland, Bolivia, Columbia, Trinidad, and Peru have enough practitioners of the TM-Sidhi program to be invincible. The United States is close to having a large enough group. And India is working on a global project. These are all civilian groups.

How Does Invincible Defense Technology Work?

The causal mechanism for IDT is not completely understood, however, a study published in 2005 in the Journal of Social Behavior and Personality[3] offers an explanation of a proposed causality of IDT in biological terms. Research on the powerful neurotransmitter serotonin research has shown that is produces feelings of contentment, happiness and even euphoria. Low levels of serotonin, according to research, correlate with violence, aggression, and poor emotional moods. The IDT study showed that higher numbers of IDT experts practicing in groups correlated with other community members having a marked increase in serotonin production. These results were statistically significant and followed the attendance figures. This offers a plausible neurophysiologic mechanism to explain reduced hostility and aggression in society at large. The experience of transcendental consciousness in the advanced individual TM practitioner appears to be associated with an increase in serotonin activity and a decrease in cortisol. As far as we can speculate, the experience of transcendental consciousness during the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique produces coherence in the brain of the TM practitioners (more powerfully in a group) and enlivens coherence within the unified field. Since the unified field underlies everything and everyone, there is increased coherence in the non-TM practitioner’s brain as well. Serotonin is materially involved in this increased coherence. This research was referenced in a paper published by the Security and Political Risk Analysis (SAPRA) think tank which puts this in a more complete context. The paper is available at: https://davidleffler.com/sapraalternative.html . Theoretical physicists allude to the unified field as the basis of all laws of nature. IDT appears to work from this fundamental level. The Maharishi Effect happens when collective consciousness is made more coherent through IDT.

Examples

One year ago, civilians in the Netherlands quietly formed a large enough group of IDT experts to achieve the Maharishi Effect. Since then, civilian groups in Bolivia, Trinidad, Columbia, and Peru took responsibility for building sufficiently large groups. The United States is very close to achieving the requisite number of IDT experts through the Invincible America Assembly[4] in Fairfield, Iowa. The pilot project in Mozambique dissolved after the UN broke up the military as part of the civil war treaty. High school students, who will graduate and move on, make up the bulk of the practitioners in Columbia. Limited economic opportunities in Iowa have hindered the development of a permanent group in the U.S. Civilian groups may not be reliable over the long term. The DoD is responsible for protecting the nation, and is obligated to thoroughly examine realistic, scientifically-proven methods for ending war and terrorism. Since the military is funded and its personnel are paid to perform their duties, it is not subject to the fluctuations of donors, jobs, graduations, and optional activities. Military members are paid to follow orders and protect the nation. Ultimately, it is the DoD’s duty to build a Prevention Wing of the Military.

A Paradigm Shift, In Progress

Dr. Carla Brown examined bias against IDT in her Harvard doctoral dissertation,[5] which explored whether and how members of the Middle East policy community applied truth and utility tests to research findings. The study she used had been published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution showing a dramatic 45 percent reduction in war intensity and 75 percent reduction in war deaths when a critical mass of experts practiced IDT in large groups. Dr. Brown found that several respondents in each elite group that she interviewed were likely to examine a similar paper in the future, motivated in part by their examination of the quality of science involved. She also explored how some of her interviewees did not take the effort to examine the research, including some social scientists that were critical of the research. Dr. Brown explored means for overcoming barriers to use of this research, including prejudice. At a time when the research outcomes described are greatly needed, this paper may provide context for those who want to understand their own prejudice or built in reservations. This paper helps defense experts better understand why Invincible Defense Technology is difficult for people to accept, and how these barriers can be addressed. This research has been published in the Journal of Social Behavior and Personality.[6] A paradigm shift is taking place in the U.S. military. “We believe that preventing wars is as important as winning wars,” according to a new strategy announced by the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard in October. This is the biggest revision of U.S. naval strategy in 25 years, by focusing more on humanitarian missions and improving international cooperation. From the U.S. Army side, Colonel Brian M. Rees, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Corps, U.S. Army Reserve, recently completed his Masters research paper from the U.S. Army War College on the topic of IDT called “The Applications of Strategic Stress Management [SSM] in Winning the Peace,” available at: http://www.invinciblemilitary.org/rees/Col_Rees_Masters_Paper.htm . The paper concluded that “SSM has demonstrated efficacy when addressing the nefarious activities of criminals and terrorists, as well as the legal violence of combatants.” Colonel Rees recently gave presentations to the Proteus Management Group at Carlisle and Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. (AMSUS) about how Invincible Defense Technology could prevent the collective stress responsible for war and terrorism.

Disclaimer: This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. As such, it is in the public domain, and under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code, Section 105, it may not be copyrighted. Visit our website for other free publications at: http://www.carlisle.army.mil/proteus. The views expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or the U.S. Government. This report is cleared for public release; distribution is unlimited.

This entry was posted
on Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 at 11:13 am and is filed under Articles.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.